I’d like to welcome to the House Herbert Maguire and Leslie Thurston, who are Ontarians on disability; Rita DeBiasi, who worked 34 years as a PSW and now is on disability; and Meike Pfeffer, who is a social worker with Seeds of Hope, an organization which helps people experiencing homelessness in the city of Toronto. Welcome to the House.

This is to the Premier. The Centre for Social Justice estimates that almost half of the 16,000 Ontarians experiencing homelessness have a disability or mental illness. When this government was elected in 2018, 94 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets of Toronto. Last year, in 2021, the number was 216 Ontarians who died on the streets of Toronto experiencing homelessness. People cannot afford housing, and the government’s promise to raise the ODSP housing allowance to $522 a month does not provide rent for a room anywhere in this province.

So my question is, will this government double ODSP rates so that Ontarians with disabilities have a place to live, or will the number of people dying on the streets of Toronto and across this province experiencing homelessness continue to rise under this government’s watch?

Today, we’re joined by some Ontarians with disabilities. One of them, Leslie, requires a special diet. She says, “The broccoli that used to cost 99 cents is now $5.99.” She says, “It’s obvious that this government doesn’t care.” She says, “I might as well eat garbage and die because no one seems to care.”

My question is to the government. Stop the spin. Stop the rhetoric. People with disabilities in Ontario are dying under your watch. Will you double the ODSP rates so Ontarians with disabilities can live a decent life?

Thank you for the question. Our government is continuously working across ministries to make sure that vulnerable people can get the supports that they need. And our government has invested more in social assistance than any provincial government in history, and I refuse to accept the no-noes across the way.

Our government has made a historic investment in ODSP. We are aligning that with inflation—and that’s not the only thing. We’re working with the federal government to create the Canadian disability benefit. We are urging them to do that on an urgent basis. It’s also across ministries, like I said. It’s the micro-credentialing strategy. It’s the Roadmap to Wellness. It’s the LIFT tax credit. It’s the CARE tax credit. It’s the child care spaces and education.

These are multi-billion-dollar investments, and we’re going to continue to do this important work, despite that the members opposite will continue to say no.

I will not take any lessons from the opposition or from the previous government. We are working on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Interjections.